Just Another Day in Paradise
by AlyCat3
Summary: A possible get-together for McDanno, featuring gunshot wounds and Danny's mouth even more active than Steve's yet experienced. Rated for the results.


It was good intel, and a good execution, with just bad luck. Rounds of gunfire later, losing sight of his partner for one full minute, and he was circling the warehouse screaming himself hoarse before he spotted the blood droplets.

"Danny? Danny! Danny!"

There was no response, and that was more terrifying than anything.

The scattered scarlet drops slowly grew in size, until rounding a corner he was following a steady trail and saw more red by the second. The bright exit sign on the far wall promising outside, help. The dark pool slowly gaining mass on the floor, Danny center of it and desperately holding himself together.

"No! No! Danny?!"

It was impossible, it had to be. Of everything they'd been through together, he wouldn't lose his partner like this.

"Hey, buddy, Danny, partner, come on babe, open your eyes, look at me man," a string of words flew from his mouth as he crouched down in the pooling blood, hands joining the slack grip to keep pressure in place. The bulletproof vest had come lose for reasons beyond him, and the precious life fluid was coming freely down from his back. Danny had clearly tried to stem the flow, his own hands stained crimson, but the awkward position hadn't given him much to work with. Steve could only imagine him dazed, trying to find some way to get help, and eventually pressing the only solid surface he could to his back in some way to adhere to his training of keep the pressure. Now he was on the ground, at this rate he wouldn't wake up to see the results.

"Come on Danny, open your eyes, I know you can do that," Steve pleaded, pressing down even harder and finally getting a moan in response.

"S'eve," the slurred word was the best sound he'd ever heard in his life.

"Yeah, that's right, eyes on me Danno," a hysterical burst of laughter came out of him when blue eyes finally peaked open. "EMT's are on scene, remember, they'll be here any second babe. We saved those hostages, and now it's your turn."

He waited with baited breath for anything, Danny's comment of how predictable getting shot at was, some stupid comment about walking this off like his Rambo partner would try, or even something about his kids. Instead he raised a hand weakly, and not understanding what he was grasping for, Steve took his hand in a solid promise of stability, the other still anchored securely to his wound. He would have done anything on Earth in that moment for Danny to continue taking another breath, the natural response when he stopped was to breath for him.

When Danny instantly responded, he knew this was no failed CPR attempt, their hands tightened against each other, Danny's even came up to scrabble weakly at his neck, but Steve had pulled back just as quickly, eyes wild as he yelled at the paramedics to get a move on. Danny had lost consciousness by then.

H50

"What the hell is the matter with you?"

Steve smiled to himself, knowing he'd never grow tired of that particular question coming from Danny. Not that he'd let him know that. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh yes you do," Danny reached over and snatched the phone from his willing fingers. "The doc will be back any minute with my discharge papers, and you're more concerned with playing on your phone? What the hell kind of partner are you? What are you doing, checking the game scores? If your old high made another touchdown and you missed it, well I am so sorr-" the words trailed off as he gazed down at what had in fact been on Steve's phone. His breath caught in his throat and Steve felt his own stop as well in fear for the last time his partner had stopped breathing. Not that they'd bothered to mention that to each other recently, but he'd thought this was a good way to bring it up.

It was a video of the warehouse, considering it was an active one during business hours anyways there had been actual security footage on hand for the trial that had to have been, in history, one of the shortest ever. Steve hadn't stopped watching one camera in particular since Danny had been taken out of surgery. Now he watched Danny's face as he finally got to see the whole thing.

The man wasn't even one they'd originally been after, just some flunky with good aim. Two shots, Steve and Danny were diving for cover in different directions. Two more shots, Danny was still scrambling madly out of the way as the native Hawaiian followed, gun trained. Danny's vest snagged on the conveyor belt, another bullet whizzing right by his head so close Steve still winced after his dozenth time of watching. Scrabbling desperately to get to better cover, Danny tore himself free, not even seeming to realize his exposed side as another bullet finally struck its mark. Backup was poring in, the shooter went down with three in his own back, and Danny was still desperately trying to get away without even seeming to realize any of this. He'd stumbled out of the camera's view in the next second, the glow of an exit sign just gracing the edge of the screen.

Danny made that hysterical laugh Steve had learned to hate, as it was usually came after something he'd never wish his partner to live through. He waited for Danny to mention what had happened next, but then the paperwork was being handed to them and he was driving Danny back to his place for that promised beer they always shared, the only argument they had of what food should be brought to their door.

Steve was beginning to wonder if he'd just imagined the moment. Through the rest of that evening not a spec seemed out of place. In fact the more he thought about it, Danny seemed to be going out of his way not to mention this latest life or death incident. Not that these were anything particularly new to the two of them, they'd faced countless many in their time together. He couldn't even put into words himself what had driven him to act this time on, well, kissing him. He could tell himself for the next ten years it hadn't started that way, but he'd be lying.

He walked his partner to the door, but let his hand rest there instead of opening it. Danny didn't _need_ to go home, the kids were with Rachel. His partner had been in the hospital long enough Steve had thought he'd shaken this off, but now here, privately with no one to walk in, he couldn't seem to ignore this anymore. Maybe that was the really telling part. This evening had been so like every other, maybe nothing more would have to change if he just-

"What is the matter with you?" Danny gave him a very unimpressed look, moving to cross his arms. Instead he winced, as was customary now whenever he expressed himself in the usual way, and it only made Steve's face tighten more. "Having problems with the door there pal? Going to have bomb squad come over and check it out before you let me get in my car?"

Steve swallowed, licked his lips, and still couldn't seem to force himself to say anything. It should be easy, like their partnership had always felt to him. He'd never hid anything from Danny, nothing big, and this felt like something even larger than an elephant to him.

"Honestly, you animal! I will see you tomorrow, just like always! No need to be getting paranoid on me now? If I reacted like this every time you-"

He jumped, nearly pounced on him, unintentionally colliding more than anything as he caught the blonde on the lips. It was more force than anything, and even he'd look back and scold himself for all but attacking him in that moment.

Danny's reaction was fair, he stumbled back and clocked him in the jaw. For one who still had stitches, the detective still had a mean swing. He stumbled back into the door, panting and now clutching the handle in a white knuckled grip like he was going to make his escape any second, slick fingers already twisting at the knob even as he still got the last words. "You can't do this to me! Not you, dammit! You do realize every reason in the world why this is won't work don't you?" The door opened a crack, Steve's heart was still hammering harder than it ever had in his life, he might puke. "We are not that kind of partner, you neanderthal!" Was he trying to convince Steve or himself? "Grace and Charlie, can you imagine explaining this to them?!" Had he thought of all this before? "I'd say let's save this for the next time one of us is about to die but that could be tomorrow knowing you!" Steve half wondered now if he was talking to himself more than anything.

He stood with the door wide open now, but didn't move farther than that. The sharp tang of a sea breeze, something Danny to this day still claimed to hate no matter how good he got to be at surfing, blew around the two of them with a chill. Danny wasn't looking at him. "For the love of everything, Steven, please, can we let this go!"

They could. Steve knew it as surely as the ocean continued to lap behind him. They could go to the office tomorrow, have coffee and malasadas, look into whatever new case the Governor would assign. They'd talk, argue, bicker, and laugh, things could go on as normal and they'd never have to bring this up again. "Danny-?" He hadn't meant to make it a question, but he didn't know what else to say.

It was in the following silence he fully realized what Danny hadn't said, in all that mess. He hadn't said he did not feel the same. How long had these feelings been reciprocated? In the hospital when he woke up? Longer? Was he really just putting this off until...when? One of them was on death's door again?

"Danny." He said again, more firmly this time. He still hadn't left.

He whirled on the spot, now glaring daggers up at him, a muscle thumping in his jaw like he'd quite like to hit him, again. His opposite hand now gripped the door handle still, keeping his out open. "What?! Is it beyond you to answer a simple yes or no question now? Let me make it simpler for you then, I am telling you, to for once in your life, let, _this_ , go!"

Steve swallowed hard. He had listened to everything his partner had just said, especially the part about Grace and Charlie. It would be crazy there for a time, with Danny's kids. Whom he loved as much as his own, and would never want to do anything to make their life more confusing. Would- well yes; but should he let this go for the sake of them? Was it really so impossible to Danny for his kids to imagine him happy with someone they already knew, trusted, loved? "Only if you can look me in the eye, right now, and say you're not doing this as ah, another one of your, unable to seize a good moment like a regular person."

Danny's mouth popped open, and Steve literally bit his tongue to stop himself smirking at the expression. "Now? You're bringing that up, now? You do realize we had that conversation back when a building fell down on our heads, correct? I stuck it out with Amber who turned out to be Melissa who- whatever! I was there until the end, and look where that got me! Steve, I have all the happiness I need with my kids!"

"Okay." He put his hands up in surrender and took a step back towards his couch. He would not fight Danny on this one thing. "Then I won't say another word. Sorry I brought it up partner, and I'll see you," he had to stop and clear his throat, "at the office. Assuming you don't want to take some time off, for ah, you know, the stitches and-"

The look on Danny's face was truly beyond words. Steve could see it all in his head, he'd get in his car and drive himself home to that empty house. It might even stay that way forever, as his best friend froze out every romantic opportunity in his life. Steve wasn't willing to risk joining that list over their partnership.

"What's the matter with you?" Danny demanded, quietly this time. "You, you bring all this up, hell I thought what happened in that warehouse was just a dream before you start all this! Now, you, what, you, just going to back off, and-"

Steve threw his hands up in exasperation. "What you do want from me Danny?" He'd meant it as a rhetorical question at this point, even putting some attempt at his teasing tone back in there to restart a friendly conversation he was starting to fear he'd never get again.

Danny shifted his weight around, he still hadn't left, and finally muttered to himself. "I'm going to regret this later." That was all the warning Steve got before there was a loud bang, and only later would Steve register it as the door closing again. There wasn't one second between that and his mind trying to process Danny leaving before the man had his hand on his neck, and was pulling him down for a kiss.

It was much gentler than what Steve had tried, soft and somehow a question after all this. His reaction was much the same though, his hands instantly curled around his waist and he pressed in eagerly, until Danny's back was now against the closed door. The blonde made a soft noise of protest, and Steve began to pull back in exasperation while wondering how many times they were going to have the same conversation over this, but Danny kept his hand on his neck this time even as he allowed him to pull back and was panting with a pained expression on his face. Steve could have kicked himself as he remembered the stitches he'd just mentioned himself.

"Were you this rough with Catherine?" Was his eloquent response to this silence.

"Really? You're bringing her up now? Really?"

"Fair's fair, you started this with Melissa." Was his patented response, the man truly always had to have the last word.

Steve decided to ignore him this time and leaned in again, and third time was the charm, because this kiss was all feeling for both of them. Warmth pulsed from his very core, someone opened their mouths and then it was tongues and fingers digging further in for purchase. Danny's hand had left the door-handle at some point and settled on Steve's shoulder, and was traveling.

"Ever done this with a guy before," Danny broke away, to get a chance to breath surely, he was panting so hard. There was a trail of warmth from the hand lingering on the small of his back and still moving.

"No," he admitted without much emotion. It wasn't true embarrassment, but he wasn't proud of saying it either.

"Yeah, me neither," there were knuckles grazing along the front of his pants now. "Might as well see how far the two of us can stand to do this while I'm pretending this night never happened though."

Steve felt a flare of anger as surely as the blood that was coursing down under when he felt his fly come loose. His hands tightened along Danny's waist, causing him to make some sort of noise that was half a moan and half a sound of deep fear. "Danny, this is not some-"

"Shush," his other hand was still on his neck and trying to tug him back. "I'm taking your advice and having a moment."

Everything in him wanted to keep protesting, but then Danny's mouth had sealed back over his, his hand had snuck down through his boxers and was exploring just as curiously in there, and despite him doing the pinning, he felt truly unable to do anything but press forward for more.

He pulled back again moments later when, like a teenager with his first time, which the two of them technically were he suddenly realized, Danny simply kept hesitating like he wasn't sure what to do now that he was doing it. "Maybe I should conspire with Rachel, see what kind of moments you two surely had at some point."

A flare of anger lit him, as Steve had expected, and that certainly did exert a response out of him, as he knew it would. He helped along this time though, reciprocating Danny's movements by fondling and then encouraging what felt good to him onto Danny. A campfire had settled deep inside, slowly built up, and was finally released with a gasping moan and a steady stream right there in his living room.

The two stayed pressed against the door, neither seemed willing to move. Danny, of course, still found his breath back first. "Ever came that fast for Lynn?"

Did he really sound smug right now? "Is this a thing now? We going to keep bringing up each others exes during this?"

"Probably a bad idea," he hadn't opened his eyes in a while, and nosed the crook of Steve's neck so that he felt his next breath, "you've got more ammo than me, though that's nothing new."

Steve felt himself shiver through his entire body. Danny either took it the wrong way or finally stretched himself back, Steve couldn't help but move with him, still keeping him pinned against the door. "Danny," he said again, this time waiting until he opened his eyes and continuing with purpose. "I don't want this to be a one time thing. I, I think we-"

"I know," he closed his eyes again, then bit down on his lower lip, hard. If it was a bit swollen like Steve felt his was, Danny made no indication of it. "I do too, but, Steve-"

"We'll work it all out together, going forward, everything. Just like we always do." He promised, pressing a kiss to his temple. "One day at a time."

"Our next day in paradise," Danny said slowly, and Steve smiled when it actually sounded hopeful.


End file.
